S'pore blogger and singer to undergo $20k plastic surgery to look perfect
PHOTO: S'pore blogger and singer to undergo $20k plastic surgery to look perfect
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SINGAPORE - At first glance, these attractive youngsters appear to have the whole package.
They even rate themselves seven out of 10 for their looks.
Surely they don't need to change a thing, right?
But being already good-looking isn't enough for local social media personalities Miss Tammy Tay and Mr Daryl Yow.
They will be going under the knife in the hopes of bringing themselves one step closer to perfection.
The duo, both 22, will go on an all-expenses- paid trip with fully sponsored procedures on their faces courtesy of SM Plastic Surgery, a cosmetic surgery clinic in Seoul, Korea, on Oct 21.
The clinic opened six months ago and it mainly services a clientele of working adults aged 20 to 40.
Miss Tay has had fillers for her cheeks and chin, while Mr Yow has not had any cosmetic work done before.
Local celebrity bloggers such as Ms Wendy Cheng (Xiaxue) and Miss Peggy Heng also had sponsored cosmetic surgeries done in 2006 and 2012 respectively.
For Miss Tay, a popular blogger and online retail shop owner, there is always "room for improvement".
She told The New Paper: "It's not that I'm not contented with how I look. I am happy with it and I can live without doing the surgery because I don't need it.
"However, if I can improve upon my looks, then why not?"
Need to look good Need to look good
Need to look good
Her good friend Mr Yow agreed.
In the same interview, the candid You- Tube singer said: "We can always look better. Sometimes I find candid photos of myself taken at events, and I feel that I look horrible.
"With the enhancements, I can look good from all angles in every photo. It will be a permanent change for the better."
As both of them need to appear in photographs and videos frequently for their online portals, they feel cosmetic surgery can help them look good at all times without the need for further post-shoot edits.
Prior to the sponsorship, the pair have toyed with the idea before but never went through with it because Miss Tay felt that it was too costly while Mr Yow was concerned about the pain.
For their upcoming surgery, Miss Tay wants to make her eyes bigger so that they will be more proportionate to her face, while Mr Yow wants to lift his droopy eyelids.
However, in the pre-surgery 30-minute consultation with their Korean surgeon Dr Lee Mu Young via Skype in early September, they got more than what they asked for.
Miss Tay said: "The doctor suggested cutting the inner and outer corners of my eyes to make them bigger, and also perform a tip plasty on my nose to make the tip of it sharper."
As for Mr Yow, Dr Lee had suggested that in addition to lifting the eyelids, he would lengthen Mr Yow's nose and also lengthen his chin to balance it out.
The fully sponsored surgeries for them cost $20,000 each, and they will stay in Korea for seven days, which is roughly the recovery period needed for their surgery.
1. Perfect to a fault
As the two pals have to blog about their entire experience after the surgery as part of the sponsorship deal with SM, are they prepared for any backlash that's bound to come their way?
A calm Miss Tay said: "I don't understand why people will hate others just because they have had plastic surgery.
It doesn't make sense that we make ourselves look prettier and people hate us for that. I am not fearful of criticisms online."
A more hesitant Mr Yow admits that he is easily affected by negative comments online and will try to brace himself for them.
"I haven't thought of how I am going to deal with them. I might not read any of the comments at all."
Both of them say that their family members and friends have been very supportive of their plan to go ahead with the surgery.
On choosing the pair, Miss Ivy Tay, 29, international marketing manager of SM PS Asia which handles marketing for SM Plastic Surgery, said: "Both of them are very prolific online and they have known each other for over four years now. They can be there for each other and support each other during the trip, which will give them a good experience.
"These days, everyone wants to look good, and image is very important. Thus, it is getting more common for people who are not bad-looking to further enhance themselves to look better."
2. Faulting a minor flaw
Dr Martin Huang, a plastic surgeon at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in Paragon, said he's seen a 10 to 20 per cent increase in the number of attractive people who go for cosmetic surgery now as compared to the past two years.
He told The New Paper: "Even good-looking people will still find some minor flaws that can be corrected. The standard of looking good is getting higher and higher, and the bar keeps getting raised."
Dr Huang added: "People are looking at themselves more critically in terms of all the different parts of their faces and bodies.
"For each facial and body part, they are applying a higher standard of beauty and becoming less tolerant of imperfections."
The most common procedures are upper and lower eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and liposuction, said Dr Huang.
For Mr Yow, he hopes to exude a cute, boyish vibe post-surgery.
"I don't want to go for the manly look. Instead, I want to be like G-Dragon (of Kpop boy band Big Bang) as he gives off this boyish feel which I like."
Miss Tay said: "I like (Hong Kong-based Chinese model-actress) Angelababy's look but it is impossible to look like her. Some people have said I resemble K-pop singer BoA, so I don't mind looking even more like her after the surgery."
Been there, done that
Been there, done that
Name: Jaryl Tng
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
What he had done: Double eyelid surgery in Singapore
When: Eight years ago, when he was 16
How much: $2,500
Why he did it: "Back then, some of my friends had said that I look fine and it was unnecessary for me to do it, but I am glad I went ahead with it.
"I feel so much more confident now, and I feel better about myself.
"My parents were not agreeable initially but eventually gave me their full support.
"They signed the parental consent form and my father also accompanied me to the surgery."
What's next: "I rate myself six out of 10 now in terms of looks, and am considering going for more procedures to enhance my looks in the next few years.
"I want to have a nose job to make the bridge of my nose sharper, and do something to my jaw to slim my face down."
What do you think of good-looking people who go under the knife?
"We live only one life. Why be envious of someone else's good looks when I can achieve it myself with technology?
"The most important thing is to find a good doctor and trust him."
Name: Sofie Chandra
Age: 30
Occupation: Head of business development
What she had done: Cutting the inner and outer corners of her eyes; double eyelid procedure; cutting eye muscles and removal of eyebags over a single twohour operation in Korea
When: January
How much: $5,000
Why she did it: "I had been thinking about it for a long while as I felt that my eyes were quite small in the past.
I thought about it for the whole of last year and decided to go for it before I turn 30.
"After surgery, I use less make-up and I feel that I look better. I feel that cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular and acceptable in society now.
"Some friends did ask me why I wanted to do it but others were quite nonchalant when I told them about it."
What's next: "I won't say no to more procedures in the future, but as of now, I am not looking to do anything."
What do you think of good-looking people who go under the knife?
"If people feel better about themselves after the enhancement, then it is fine. It's a personal choice."
jocelee@sph.com.sg
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